Smile Big: I Got My Two Front Teeth Fixed!

A few months before Mike & I got married, I chipped one of my front teeth. Again.

That’s right, my front teeth were already slightly chipped, & then I went & made it worse. How, exactly, did I chip my teeth not once but twice? Good question, I have no idea.

OK, I know one of the answers: The first time, I bummed one of my front teeth on one of Mike’s front teeth when I went in for a kiss. On our fourth date. Not embarrassing at all.

The second time, though, I was standing in my driveway, talking to friends, when all of a sudden, I felt a little piece of my tooth come loose. When I spit it out into my hand, conversation stopped. “Did you just chip your tooth?” a friend asked. “And… how?!?!”

Ugh. How indeed. So I’ve been walking around with chipped front teeth for… um, for awhile now.

Here are three never-before-seen photos of me (uh, because none of them are good photos of me), in which you can clearly see my uneven front teeth on full display.

Hmm, that’s not quite close enough. Let’s zoom in & try again:

Nope, not quite. Come a little bit closer…

There we go. You can see that my right front tooth is chipped & uneven, that it’s jagged & pointy in a few spots. I know it’s not that obvious – but I’ve been self-conscious about it for the last few years, including in our wedding photos.

Last week, I visited Hudec Dental to pick up the new mouthguard I’m supposed to wear at night to keep me from grinding my teeth. It won’t keep me from grinding, but it will keep the grinding from damaging my teeth by acting as a guard between them. In fact, my dentist said the chipping is likely a result of the grinding: Grinding weakens the teeth, which in turn makes them more susceptible to breakage.

And that has made me a bit insecure about showing off my smile or opening my mouth wide, especially in photos. For example, here’s one – a very flattering pic of me eating a bagel from Call Your Mother Deli – that really shows off how uneven they are:

And now for the zoom…

See that sharp piece toward the middle?! It’s the part that bothers me the most, both in photos & in daily life because it’s, well, sharp! So I asked the dentist if she could even out my two front teeth.

Unfortunately, the answer wasn’t exactly “yes” but “kind of.” She told me evening them out entirely would risk sensitivity issues & more – all for the sake of vanity. But she told she could polish the sharp spots, making them smoother even if not entirely even.

She got started… & it was all done within about 30 seconds. She focused on that spot toward the middle, the little pointy part that sometimes catch on my tongue, & while heard some noise from the grinder & felt the dentist’s hand over my mouth for a few seconds, it didn’t hurt at all.

It only resulted in just the tiiiiniest outward change, but for me, it made all the difference.

OK, OK, I hear you. You’re saying, “That doesn’t look like any change at all,” aren’t you? That’s fine, I get it. I did tell you it was a tiny difference, & iPhone cameras are only so good.

Let’s take a closer look:

There, you can really see it. That little inside edge, all smoothed out? It’s making a world of a difference in the way I feel about my smile – & I’m no longer at risk of nicking my tongue on my own tooth.

I know I’m never going to have straight, even, perfect teeth like Bachelor­ contestants or Kardashians because, as my hygienist reminded me, those are veneers. But with this little bit of simple smoothing & polishing, I’m feeling better about my teeth than I have in a long time.

So bring on the cameras! I’m ready to smile for ya.

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Hudec Dental. I have an ongoing, paid partnership with Hudec Dental in exchange for the creation of original content; as always, all opinions are my own.